Pumps for pumping molten metal include refractory components (e.g., made of graphite) to withstand the harsh molten metal environment (e.g., molten aluminum). Nevertheless, the pump components inevitably fail and need to be replaced periodically, leading to undesirable pump down time and labor and material costs repairing the pump. The components of the pump may fail for various reasons, but one problem is that the posts that submerge the base containing the rotating impeller in the molten metal, inevitably wear near a surface of the molten metal where dross is located. Replacing the posts of some pumps is a difficult procedure if the posts are cemented to the base. The inventor's company, High Temperature Systems, Inc., offers a cementless pump in which the posts are connected to the base with fasteners and no cement is needed, which makes post replacement easier. Nevertheless, it would be advantageous if the life of such pump components could be extended.